Tim Silvia vs Brandon Vera
This fight was about as exciting as watching paint dry. Pretty much 95% of the fight consisted of Brandon Vera being pushed up against the cage with not a great deal of action at all. Tim's getting booed quite a bit in general these days and I can see why. People want exciting fights - and if you play it safe all the time, people will get frustrated and show that frustration. Not to mention that the dude's 6' 8". He's awkward as hell! So with that working against him, he can't really afford to have boring fights if he wants to get the fans respect. If you knock opponents out - the people will come! However, I'm not hating on the guy (although it certainly sounds that way I know) and I totally respect all the fighters and the work they put in. That said - the end result was exactly how I predicted.
Tim Silvia wins by Judges decision.
Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin
This was not a bad fight at all. Right away you could tell that Franklin had a few more tricks up his sleeve to ensure what happened in the last fight was not going to happen again. Soon as Anderson tried to get him in that Thai clinch, Franklin immediately started making moves to get out of it and the first 3 minutes of the round didn't look too bad. With that said, Anderson has way more in his repertoire than just holding someones head and kneeing them in the face and right at the end of the 1st round, Franklin got tagged with a sweet shot, talk about saved by the bell. Second round comes and I knew it wouldn't get to a 3rd. Much respect to Franklin as the dude totally gave it his all but Anderson's too hardcore right now. Anyways, once again and exactly as predicted...
Anderson Silva wins by 2nd round stoppage.
Nostradamus who?? Randy Couture...eat your heart out!!
Finally, they announced during the event that Brock Lesnar is now a heavyweight in the UFC - ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!! As someone who used to be (USED TO BE!!) an avid fan of WWE, it's hard to imagine him being anything but awkward...although admittedly - he's a freaking HUGE dude and I wouldn't wanna take him on. Although for some reason I can't help but think of that episode of friends when Monica's boyfriend joins the UFC and gets a total ass whippin'. But hey...we'll see. He's a former All American wrestler which counts for alot but until I see that first fight - I'll be reserving judgement. Size and strength only takes you so far (Couture vs Silvia is a perfect example) - and if you come up with someone who has the skills...nighty night!
Oh - and the UFC 78 site has a holding page now, those guys at Red must be well busy!!
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